IIONTRODUCTION

A.Groundbreaking

2.It was raining
that morning, so we had our 3 regular services here instead of the one big one
we were hoping to have at the property

3.After the third
service, we went out to the lot and dug the first ceremonial holes

4.That morning, I
shared a message from Nehemiah 4 about the work of rebuilding the walls of
Jerusalem

5.We saw the
parallels between that project and our own

6.We gained some
insight in to the challenges that we'll face and how to overcome them

7.Today, I want to
return to Nehemiah 4 as we continue our study in this great book

8.We covered verse
1-14 in January, today, want to look at the rest of the chapter

B.Set The Scene

1.Now, before we can
pick it up at verse 15, we need to do a little recap

2.Nehemiah arrived
in Jerusalem with both the authority and
resources to accomplish the task of rebuilding Jerusalem's walls -

3.The only thing he
didn’t have was the labor

4.So the first thing
he did was to survey the damage

5.Then, he went to
the leaders of the people and shared his vision with them

6.Their response was
enthusiastic and they began to build

7.Verse 6 tells us
because the people had a mind to work, the wall quickly went up to half it's
height

8.And it was then
that trouble set in

a.no
point in a project is more crucial than the half way point

b.a
half built wall was no good at all - it was useless

c.but
when the half way point was reached, the novelty of the work vanished

d.the
last half of any project is sheer routine - simple toil

e.when
half the wall was built, and built so quickly, it was easy for the people to
step back, admire their work and say.

1) "Wow, that was pretty
easy.And look how fast the work
went."

2) "I've got other things to
do - certainly someone else will take it from here."

f.Maybe
you've heard this before:Once upon a
time there were four men named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody .There was an important job to be done and
Everybody was asked to do it.But
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.Anybody could have done it.But
Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it, because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, and Nobody realized that Everybody
wouldn't do it.It ended up that
Everybody blamed Somebody and Nobody did the job that Anybody could have done
in the first place.

9.Many of us have
come a long way in the Christian life

a.the
Holy Spirit is conforming us to the image of Christ

b.but
the work is only half done - we're not complete yet, and we won’t be till the
Jesus comes and completes the work Himself

c.we
need to hold on and persevere to the end - till we meet the fullness of the
stature of Christ

10.The half way point
is dangerous for another reason

a.it's
the last time the enemy can effectively stop the work

b.in
Jerusalem, when the enemies of the Jews, Sanballat, Tobiah, and their cronies
saw the work of rebuilding progressing so rapidly, they became concerned

c.they
knew they needed to do something, anything, & quickly or they would be shut
out

d.so
when the wall was half way up, and the workers stopped to take a breather, the
enemy moved

11.In verses 7-9, we
read how they conspired together to come to Jerusalem and attack the workers
and stop the project

12.Nehemiah heard of
their plans and turned to prayer

13.Then they set
guards to protect the workers

14.Let's pick up the
story at verse 11 . . .

II.TEXT

A.Vs. 11

{11} And our adversaries said, “They will neither know
nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause
the work to cease.”

1.Note those words!

2.The enemy was in
deadly earnest - this was no game

3.Sanballat, Tobiah,
Geshem and the others knew that a rebuilt wall meant the end of their ability
to harass and mistreat the Jews

4.They knew that it
meant an end to their authority and ability to control them

5.So they would not
stop at mere harassment - they were dedicated to the cause of stopping the
reconstruction of the wall and if that meant murder, then so be it

6.Friends, as we saw
in our study last Wednesday evening - Nehemiah is a type of the Holy Spirit

a.just
as he came from the King with authority and resources to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem

b.so
the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us with all the authority and resources He
needs to accomplish the task of rebuilding the walls of our personality

c.you
see, up to this point, Jerusalem had a rebuilt temple - the worship of God had
begun,

d.but
the walls were in ruins, and because of that, the people had no defense and no
identity and no authority over their own lives - they lived at the whim of
their enemies

e.this
is why Nehemiah came - he heard of the distress of his people, and he came to
rebuild the walls so the people could defend themselves, so they could discover
their identity as the people of God, and to exercise authority over what they
allowed into and out of their city

f.the
walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians because of Israel's
sin and rebellion

g.in
the same way, sin has broken down the walls of our lives

1) we’ve lost the understanding of
who we are as men and women whom God created

2) we've lost our ability to protect
ourselves from the harassment of the devil

3) and we possess no authority
over our own lives because we are slaves of sin and death

h.but
the moment we are born again, the worship of God is established in our hearts -
just as that temple was the first thing to be rebuilt in Jerusalem

i.and
then the Holy Spirit comes to do a work of rebuilding our walls

j.He
comes to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ

1) He comes to give us a new
identity

2) He comes to make us strong so
we can defend ourselves against deception and evil

3) He comes to give us authority
so we can be a vital part of what God is doing

k.and
when that work is well under way, and we have begun to see the fruit of
spiritual maturity, then know for certain the devil and his demons are not
going to slink away to lick their wounds

l.they
know it's now or never - and like Sanballat & Tobiah, they will shift gears
for an outright attack

m.this
is no game for the devil - he is deadly earnest - the game is for keeps

n.he
does not want you to know who you are in Christ because that truth will
set you instantly free from the lies he's managed to convince you of and bind
you with for years

o.he
doesn't want you to know your authority in Christ, because once you do
it means you become part of that group in the Church against which the very
gates of hell cannot stand

p.when
you discover your authority in Christ, it means the end of his
domination, not only of you, but of others as you step out in faith and see the
borders of the kingdom of God reclaim ground once held by Satan

7.Christian - if you
are sincere in your desire to grow in Christ - know and understand that that
means you have just come to the attention of Sanballat and Tobiah

8.Expect to hear
from them- but be careful, because as
we read here, they will try to sneak in
to do their damage

B.Vs. 12

{12} So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them
came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”

1.Nehemiah and the
workers now got a discouraging report

2.They heard that
the impending attack was so vast and well conceived that there was no way they
would be able to defend against it

3.And notice who it
was who brought this report - from Jews

4.But what
Jews?They were Jews who lived near the
enemy and were not a part of the work of rebuilding the walls

5.As we walk with
the Lord and yield to the work of the Holy Spirit conforming us to the image of
Christ,

a.not
only will we experience opposition from the devil,

b.but
we will also face the discouraging reports of people who live too close to the
enemy, and who are not open to the work of God in their lives

c.they
will question our zeal

d.and
try to get us to moderate our desire to be holy

6.When Israel came
out of bondage in Egypt, there were many other people that left with them

a.this
mixed multitude, as they are called, became the cause of much trouble to Israel

b.they
had left with the Jews because they had seen the power of Israel's God, but
they were not really a part of Israel

c.and
it was this mixed multitude that led in the grumbling and complaining against
Moses and God that spread throughout the nation and resulted in so much trouble

7.In the same way,
the Church is a mixed multitude

a.there
are genuine believers in the church,

b.and
then there are those who are just along for the ride

c.and
when the going gets tough, they complain and grumble

d.this
grumbling can easily infect genuine believers

e.the
unfounded fear of the mixed multitude can disturb the peace of the people of
God

8.How did Nehemiah
deal with their report?

C.Vs. 13-14

{13} Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set
the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and
their bows.

{14} And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles,
to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons,
your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

1.Remember that it
was Sanballat and Tobiah's desire to stop the rebuilding of the wall

2.So they let their
plans of attack be made known to the Jews around them

3.They knew they
would go running to Nehemiah to warn him

4.They hoped the
threat and fear of attack would drive them off the project

5.But Nehemiah would
not let fear stop the work

6.He knew God had
brought them to that point, and not just so that they would quit with a half
built wall

7.God does not start
something to let it die half way done - He ALWAYS completes what He begins >
I'm confident of this very thing . . .

8.So Nehemiah took
prudent steps to calm the fears of the people and answer the threat of violence

a.he
set up guards

b.and
he made sure everyone brought their weapons to work with them

c.that
way if the enemy came near, they could do battle

d.he
also reminded them that God was on their side - and if God is for us, who can
be against us?

9.How important it
is that we be reminded of the fact that God is on our side and that the work
that is being done in us is HIS work!

10.What we need to do
to insure it goes on without hindrance is to set a guard and watch for how and
where the enemy might try to distract us or wound us

a.one
front he will often attack is our home: marriages, children

b.another
front is our witness at work or school

c.another
is our priorities

d.all
these fronts need to be guarded lest he find and opening and slip in

D.Vs. 15-18

{15} And it happened, when our enemies heard that it
was known to us, and that God had brought
their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his
work.

{16} So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at
construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.

{17} Those who built on the wall, and those who
carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at
construction, and with the other held a weapon.

{18} Every one of the builders had his sword girded at
his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

1.Can you picture
this?

2.Each day as the
workers went to their spot on the wall to work, they took their swords and
spears with them

3.As they worked,
they held a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other

4.They were both
building and battling

5.What a fitting
picture of the Christian life!

a.on
one hand, the Holy Spirit is building us so that we are able to participate in building
the Kingdom of God

b.and
on the other hand, we are battling the hosts of hell

c.in
one hand is the trowel of grace, in the other the sword of the Spirit

6.Right here in Port
Hueneme we have the Naval Construction Battalion

a.their
motto is, "We Build, We Fight"

b.that
motto fits us - We Build, We Fight

7.But our battle is
not with flesh and blood - it is with principalities and powers, with spiritual
hosts of evil

8.The weapons of our
warfare are not physical - they're spiritual, and they possess the power to
dismantle the strongholds and fortifications of our enemy

9.Of all the armor
of God Paul mentions in Ephesians 6, only two of them are offensive in nature -
the rest are used for defense

10.The two offensive
weapons Paul gives are the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and
prayer, which is like a spear

a.with
the word of God we are able to battle the lies
of the devil

b.through
prayer we can send our faith into the
midst of a situation and see God effect His will

11.How adept are you
at handling the Sword of the Spirit - the Bible?

a.when
confronted with temptation, can you answer with scripture?

b.as
Jesus did when He was tempted in the wilderness?

c.do
you not know the hilt from the point

d.has
your spiritual sword ever even been taken out of the scabbard?

12.How skilled are you
with the spear of the Spirit - prayer?

a.can
you pray to the heart of an issue?

b.or
are your prayers thrown blindly up?

13.The Lord wants each
of us to become skilled soldiers so that we can wield the Sword and Spear of
the Spirit effectively, and instead of becoming a casualty, we become victors!

E.Vs. 19-20

{19} Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the
rest of the people, “The work is great
and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.

{20} “Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet,
rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

1.Nehemiah, being
the gifted leader he was, knew that the enemy would not attack on a wide front

2.Instead, they
would probe for a weak and unguarded spot

3.Having found it,
they would try to exploit it

4.So Nehemiah kept a
trumpeter with him at all times

5.And he gave notice
that whenever the people heard the trumpet sound, they were to rally to that
point because it meant that was the
point of attack

6.Nehemiah knew that
the success of the work took everyone's participation and protection

7.Though each had
been assigned a separate part of the wall to rebuild,

a.and
though there was a distance between them,

b.they
all needed to remember that the success of their part was tied to the success
of everyone's part

c.what
good was a well built wall if even one
person had failed to do his part?

d.and
enemy only needs one hole, one breach in the wall to find access and do great
damage

e.a
wall is only good if it stands intact all the way around

f.so
while each family worked on it's own section, each family depended on each and
every other family to do their part

8.And so it is in
the Body of Christ

a.the
strength and success of the Church is dependent on the success and strength of
each member

b.a
chain is only as strong as it's weakest link

c.in
1957 the First Brethren Church of Sarasota, Florida had a ground breaking
service for it's new building

1) instead of the usual shovels
for special people to use in digging, they brought an old one horse plow

2) recalling the words of Jesus,
"Take my yoke upon you," they borrowed an old yoke and the two strongest
men in the church were hitched up

3) but the two were unable to pull
the plow.

4) so the entire Building
Committee grabbed the ropes , but even then the plow did not move.

5) other church leaders were
added, the elders, the deacons, and the Sunday school teachers, but still the
plow did not move.

6)it wasn't until every member of
the congregation took a holdof the
rope that the plow finally broke free and began to dig

d.too
many churches expect the pastors and elders to do all the work

e.if
we want to see progress we must all work and battle together.

9.We must be
diligent to come to one another's aid when one of us is being attacked

10.We need to rally to
each other's side and do battle when battle is called for

11.Several years ago,
we noticed that there were many families in the church who were going through
tough times

a.marriages
were in trouble

b.children
were wigging out

c.financial
pressures were building

d.it
was very obvious that we were in a season of domestic attack

e.so
we had what we called a "Trumpet Night"

f.as
the leaders that God has called for Calvary Chapel, we sounded the alarm and
rallied the men of the church to meet together to pray, do battle and take
seriously the responsibility to build that part of the wall God had given us

g.what
was exciting was to see how the Lord brought an end to that season of opposition
as the men returned to their homes to build and battle on the home front

III.CONCLUSION

A.Nehemiah's Priority

1.As we close, I
want you to notice something

2.Through all of
this, Nehemiah never stopped the work of rebuilding

3.He kept at it -
even when there was a threat of attack

4.You see, Nehemiah
knew his mission - build the walls

5.His mission wasn't
to stand all day and wait for an attack

6.If the threat of
an attack could cause Nehemiah to shift his focus from building to battling,
then the enemy would be content to do nothing all day but make threats - all so
that the work would not go forward as the workers stood guard and waited

7.Nehemiah would not
play their game - he knew what was up - the enemy only wanted the building
stopped

8.Christian - God is
doing a work in you, a work of building

9.Don’t let yourself
be distracted from that work by anything!

10.Nehemiah's priority
is our priority - to rebuild the walls - to see ourselves conformed to the
image of Christ!

11.Never give up -
Never, never, never, never, never!

12.And know this, one
day soon, our heavenly Nehemiah will turn to the angel next to him and tell him
to blow the trumpet, and you and I will be called out of the midst of our
building to rally to Him as He prepares to come and put an end to the enemy
once and for all!